MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) IN THE MINISTRY OF DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION (SHRI BHARATSINH SOLANKI )
(a ) and (b ) Under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP), the norm for
providing drinking water supply in rural areas was 40 litres per capita per day (lpcd) for
humans which are required to meet the needs of drinking, cooking, bathing, washing utensils
and ablution, based on basic minimum need. In the revised NRDWP guideline which is now under
implementation from 2013, the minimum requirement has been increased to 55 lpcd.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has published `Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality`
which are addressed primarily to assist the water and health regulators, policy makers and
their advisors and to assist in the development of national standards. The Bureau of Indian
Standards (BIS), taking assistance among others, from the WHO Guidelines on Drinking Water
Quality, has prescribed the requirements for the essential and desirable characteristics
required to be tested for ascertaining the suitability of water for drinking purposes in
its standard IS-10500. The National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) guidelines
indicates that water is defined as safe, if the chemical and bacteriological parameters
are within the standards as prescribed in BIS Standard IS-10500.
(c ) and (d ) Drinking Water supply is a State subject. The Government of India provides
financial and technical assistance to States under the NRDWP to supplement their efforts
to provide adequate safe drinking water to the rural population. Under the NRDWP, the State
Governments including the State of Maharashtra and Odisha are vested with the powers to
plan, execute and implement drinking water supply schemes which inter alia includes setting
up of desalination plants.
Under the NRDWP no funds are provided separately to States for desalination projects , however
the funds provided to the States under NRDWP in the last three years and the current year State/UT wise is at Annexure.
